A Few Small Repairs

[Nate]

Nate gathered up all the tools he could find in the basement and carried them up to the boys' bunkroom. He had remembered during his conversation with Ershey a few days before that she had mentioned how drafty the windows in the boys' bunkroom were. With winter quickly approaching, it seemed like the perfect time to get it fixed.

"Well, let's see what the problem is here," he said to himself as he began to examine the window.

[Risk]

Risk was on the rooftop, having a smoke. Realizing that he needed to actually do something productive (like selling papes), he flicked his cigarette down on the floor and proceeded to climb down the fire escape. He hated going through the hatch and thought it was creepy.

"Wh --- hey, who are you?" muttered Risk in confusion as he approached the window.

[Nate]

Nate looked up from the window sill and shrugged. Grinning, he set down his hammer and extended his hand to the other boy. "The name's Nate," he answered. "What about you?"

He glanced over at the window again, his brow furrowing. "Can you do me a favor and get themeasuring tape from the tool box for me?"

[Risk]

"Risk," he replied, almost catching himself before he said his real name. Why did he always forget that he was undercover? Damn newsies.

He shook his hand before shooting him a confused look. "We have a tool box here?" he muttered, climbing through the window as if he'd stepped into a new world.

[Nate]

"It's amazing the things you can find in the basement when you take the time to look," Nate responded with a laugh, nodding at the other boy in a gesture of thanks as he took out the measuring tape.

He leaned back into the window sill, taking a couple measurements before writing them down on a nearby piece of paper.

He glanced up at Risk, realizing that he wasn't exactly being polite. "So, ummmm, are you a newsie here, or do you do something else?"

[Risk]

"I'm a newsie," answered Risk, taking a seat on the floor as he watched Nate work on the window. "Are you? You look too smart to be a newsie... I mean, uh, no offense or anythin'..."

[Nate]

"Me?" Nate laughed, his head shaking as he wiped his hands off on his pantlegs. "Not since I was a kid." He reached into the toolbox and pulled out a small handsaw, using it on a nearby piece of wood. "Actually, I'm kind of in-between jobs at the moment. Hoping to find some sort of carpenter kind of deal, but I haven't got a problem with loading boxes at the docks, either. Anything to put food in my stomach."

[Risk]

"Is that why you're fixin' that window?" smirked Risk as he busied himself with the toolbox. Who knew they had things like this here?

"I hear ya about the food. I'm gettin' sick of eatin' the same thing everyday... makes me wish I had more money just for that," he muttered. "So, are you new or somethin'? I haven't seen you here before."

[Nate]

"You could say that, yeah," Nate laughed. He finished sawing the piece of wood and placed it in the gap between the window and the sill. "I figure, if I show the guy that runs this place what I can do, he might wanna make some arrangment or whatever."

He shrugged and pulled a nail out of his pants pocket. Holding it in place, he carefully hammered the wood in place. "A girl I met told me this window needed a little help. I figure with the winter coming soon, someone's gotta fix it."

This guy seemed interesting enough. Deciding to take a break, Nate leaned against the window frame. "You know, I could show you how to do this kinda stuff, if you want. It's a little more work than hawking headlines, but the pay is a lot better. And... yeah, you can say I'm new around here. Used to live in one of these places a few years back. Not this one exactly, but one like it. Then I left for a bit, but now I'm pretty much right back where I started. How about you? Have you been here for a while?"

[Risk]

"You should try gettin' ahold of Kloppman so you're not doin' that with no pay," muttered Risk, raising an eyebrow at him. "If I knew I could get paid more than I did now... well, I wouldn't be doing what I do now." He sometimes hated how much of a liar he was. Oh well, it was part of the job.

"Just about a month or so," he replied, shrugging. "Not too long like the other boys... some of 'em have been here for years. Uh, you sure about teachin' me? You have the time for that? Aren't ya supposed to be lookin' for a job?"

[Nate]

"I've been trying to get a hold of him, but the guy doesn't seem to be around whenever I'm looking for him," Nate replied, his hands wringing a bit. "First chance I get, though, you can bet I'm gonna talk to him!"

"Years? Really?" Nate asked, blinking in surprise. "I don't think I could do that, myself." He leaned back into the windowframe, surprised by how study it was. "I should be looking for a job, yeah, but I won't be doing it all the time. A lot of the time, yeah, but I'm still gonna have to put aside time to fix up some things. You're more than welcome to sit in if you want. If not, no skin off my nose. Deal?"

[Risk]

Risk raised his eyebrow at him. He wasn't too sure if it was from dealing with gangs and the shady newsies he'd met recently but this guy was way too friendly.

"...What do you want in return?"

[Nate]

"Who said I wanted anything?" Nate asked in reply, his forehead wrinkling. "Believe it or not, Risk, my boy, there are still a couple of genuine people left. Not many, but a few."

He shrugged and got back up, digging into his pocket for another nail. "Well, that, and I'm considering it a promise kept."

[Risk]

"Are you... sure?" he asked once again, quite amazed that he didn't want a favor in return. Where did this guy come from?

[Nate]

"Listen, I'm sure," he repeated, his head nodding again. "You'd be surprised the things that can come out of it."

He returned to the window and nailed the wood into the frame some more. "If you don't want to, though, that's fine. I get it, if someone offered me something like this, I'd probably be a little confused, too."